


Days of Reckoning

by rolerei



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Crowe Altius Lives, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hate to Love, Love Triangles, Parallels with Final Fantasy XV Comrades, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Vaginal Sex, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:21:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27011950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rolerei/pseuds/rolerei
Summary: The fall of the crown city, the death of a brother, and the passing of a lover may be too heavy sins on one's shoulders. But in the world of ruins and darkness, Crowe tried her best to survive and move on. However, the sudden arrival of someone from her past - and the catalyst of all her recent unhappiness - made it all the more difficult.Or so she originally thought.(Written for FFXV Rarepair Big Bang 2020)
Relationships: Background Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia, Crowe Altius & Gladiolus Amicitia, Crowe Altius/Cor Leonis, One-sided Crowe Altius/Libertus Ostium, Past Crowe Altius/Lunafreya Nox Fleuret
Comments: 25
Kudos: 5
Collections: FFXV Rarepair Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written as part of Rarepair Big Bang 2020. Many thanks to [xHidaka](https://xhidaka.tumblr.com) for providing the wonderful illustration for this fic and [MismatchedPurple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MismatchedPurple) for editing!
> 
> Thank you also for the admins of the event for organizing this Big Bang 😊 It was a good writing challenge and I got to know so many good writers and artists from the fandom. 10/10 will definitely do again.

The sun had not risen for five years.

It wasn’t as if the thought had never crossed Crowe’s mind before. Not when she woke up every day wondering what time it was and struggling to leave the comfort of her daemon-free bed.

But on that day, the fact that the sun wasn’t rising anymore had hit Crowe especially hard and quite unexpectedly, like a brick to the head. Or an uncalled-for news of the death of a lover.

If only she could turn back time, she wouldn't have left her bed that pitch dark morning.

… No, that was not entirely true, was it?

She’d turn it all the way to the day it had all started, if she could. Back in Insomnia, when she still had a family, a job,

A _home_.

Until Cor Leonis took it all away.

And the war and the darkness that followed swallowed everything else.

* * *

But that was all in the past.

The actual story started - like many stories tended to start ever since the sun stopped rising - with a truck pulling over in Lestallum. Crowe had been one of the first hunters to jump off the tailgate, dragging along a carcass of anak and three sabertusk claws. She had not set foot in Lestallum for at least a week, and the bright lights of the city forced her to squint her eyes.

As she started to walk, Crowe bumped straight into something hard and solid that was barely reaching the height of her navel. When she looked down, Crowe found out that it was a child. Barely older than 8 years, at least judging from the height.

“Oh, sorry there, kiddo,” she said before resuming walking. Normally, she wouldn’t have spared a second to say anything, but the sight of a child had been a rarity since the Long Night began that she had to make an exception.

Also, where were the kid’s parents? Did they contract the Scourge and disappear like many others? Was that why this kid was here, wandering around hunters’ pickup point instead of...

Well, there wasn’t much else that a kid could do in this world except wandering around, Crowe supposed. The last school in Lestallum was closed down earlier this year due to the chronic need of housing. Who would have expected that taking in the remaining population of Eos required giving up some frivolities from the bygone sun-soaked years - like an education.

“Um… Miss?” The kid called out.

Crowe stopped walking and turned, her eyebrows furrowed. “What do you want?”

“Do you… happen to be selling those?”

Crowe followed the direction of the kid's tiny pointed finger to her right shoulder, which was slung over with a dead anak. She turned back at the kid with a grimace. “No, sorry. I’m keeping this one for dinner.”

“Oh.”

The kid slumped his head. From this angle, the lighting made it look like he had sunken cheeks. The next seconds saw him fumbling around his pocket before he looked back up again with a determined expression. “Will you be willing to sell it if I give you something really, really precious?”

Crowe lifted one eyebrow. “Look here, kiddo, I don’t care how precious you think your toy car is…”

Before Crowe could finish her sentence, something shiny caught her attention. Crowe squinted and stepped forward before realizing that the shiny thing was actually an Oracle Ascension Coin, lying innocently on the kid's open palm and reflecting the lights. She felt a sudden twinge somewhere inside her chest and took a moment to take in a big puff of breath.

“Where did you get that?” she demanded.

“I can tell you if you’d trade your dinner with it.”

Crowe squinted - this time it was from something more than just the bright light. “... Fine.”

She dropped the anak from her shoulder unceremoniously. The kid scrambled over the dead animal in an instant. “Oh gods, I didn't expect you'd… I mean, thank you, Miss.”

“Yeah, whatever. Give me that.”

Crowe beckoned with one hand and the kid stood to drop the coin on her open palm. The silver felt cold against her skin and she closed her fingers around it.

"My mother was a devout follower of the Six. She used to go on a pilgrimage to the Disc of Cauthess several times a year," the kid started explaining. "I got the coin from her."

Crowe's frown deepened upon noticing the past tense. She thought of returning the coin back to the kid, but then hesitated when the outline of the face that was engraved on the coin once again caught lights. For a brief moment, she was reminded of the sun that shone bright behind a halo of golden hair. The light blue of the sea and the sky of Altissia melded together in a pair of smiling eyes, while a soft, loving voice was calling out, _"I will always be with you, Crowe_. _"_

"... Miss? Are you alright?"

Crowe started before looking down at the kid with displeasure in her dark eyes. "Worry about yourself first, kid."

She then made a pointed gesture with her chin towards the stiff anak carcass lying on the ground next to her feet. "Can you even bring that back on your own?"

The kid looked down for exactly two seconds before looking back up at Crowe. "I'll find a way."

Crowe let out yet another sigh before pocketing the coin and bending over to pick up the anak corpse again. "Come on, kid. Show me where you live. I don't have all night."

* * *

The kid led Crowe through paths of Lestallum that she had never walked on. Sometimes narrow, sometimes wide, but always winding, with an entire household occasionally hanging above the cobblestones. Once in a while, she would glance up to one of those makeshift houses and at least a pair of eyes would stare back at her. Some of them were sunken and hollow, but mostly they were wide and curious.

“This way, Miss.”

Crowe looked down, trying her best not to look startled, and followed the kid down a short corridor that looked as if it just appeared on the wall. At the end of the corridor, there was a wooden door that must have been blue once upon a time ago. The kid paused to knock on the door, and after a short moment it creaked open.

“Brother…?”

The small figure behind the door called out before showing themself, and Crowe held her breath. The kid’s little sister must have been no older than five years old - one of the first children who only knew darkness.

It made Crowe wonder if the two were even related by blood. She wouldn’t find it so strange if they weren’t. Even before the Long Night, children all over Lucis had always found and taken care of each other. Just like what happened to herself when Libertus and Nyx-

Oh, shit.

Her mind just went _that way_ , didn’t it?

The kid turned around just in time to see Crowe took a step back with a slight stagger. “Miss…? You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied brusquely, almost reflexively. The weight of the anak carcass was starting to bite at her shoulder. “Tell me where to put this thing down and I’ll be on my way.”

“Oh… y-yes, of course. This way, Miss.”

The kid and his little sister stepped out of the way so Crowe could get into the little space that she assumed was their home and drop the anak on the first open surface that she spotted. When the two children thanked her, she merely waved them off and left.

They may have said more things than ‘thank you’, but the words felt as if they were droned from far away. In Crowe’s mind, all that she could focus on were flashes of images and sensations that existed only in her mind: memories that she tried hard to suppress in the recent years. The crowded makeshift orphanage in the refugee shelter. The hunger, then the stealing. Then the welcoming grins on the faces of two foreign-looking boys that were kind enough to share a piece of bread with her.

Foreign-looking boys that later became her brothers - until they were all gone.

Away from her life forever.

* * *

When was the last time she talked with Libertus?

Must have been before the Long Night began. Or was it just shortly after it began? Crowe wasn’t quite sure.

What she remembered for sure were the fights. They were mostly about Nyx, naturally, and it all had boiled down to the different ways that she and Libertus had chosen to cope with his death. Crowe wanted to mourn Nyx properly, to remember him and his legacy. Meanwhile, Libertus… preferred not to mention Nyx's death at all. Not even in the quiet of their temporary home in Galahd.

It was difficult for Libertus to accept Nyx's death. Crowe had an inkling of it already when he suggested that they leave Insomnia for Galahd. "Maybe Nyx is already heading there," he theorized, after a week of searching the different corners of the ruined Insomnia in vain.

Crowe relented at first. The prospect of seeing the place where Libertus and Nyx grew up in was much too tempting to pass over. She was desperate to know all facets of Nyx's life, now that the man himself was gone and unable to tell her in his own words. And Libertus accommodated it - to a certain degree.

But the fights and disagreements continued on. A funeral canceled before it was even planned. Then Libertus accused her of giving up on her own brother - a straw that broke the donkey's back. Next thing Crowe knew, she was on a boat miles away from the lush Lucian island; the Cygillan Ocean stretched out wide and blue before her as far as the eyes could see.

Then, Altissia happened.

What would have happened if she did things differently? Crowe couldn't help but wonder. If she had managed to convince Libertus to leave Galahd with her, would they still be talking to each other? Would things have turned out better or worse if he did?

As her thoughts began to form the slow dance into a familiar downward spiral, Crowe raised her hand to call upon the bartender and ordered a beer.

* * *

"Hey, sorry for the tardiness." The tipster slipped onto the bar stool next to her, and Crowe knew that - despite the words that had come out of his mouth - he was not at all sorry.

Wordlessly, Crowe reached into her bag and pulled out sabertusk claws that she had brought back from her hunt. She dropped them on the bar counter between them. The tipster picked up one and inspected it.

"Hmm, looks real, indeed," he remarked before putting the claw back down. "Alright. I'll give you 200 gil for each."

Crowe's jaw dropped in disbelief. "What the fuck? The bounty's for 500 gil each, last time I checked."

"Yeah, well. Prices fluctuate, especially when there is more supply than demand," the tipster drawled. "Just basic economics, missy."

"But _200 gil,_ though? Really? That's hardly more expensive than this glass of beer."

"Well, if you don't want it, then don't take it."

Crowe grumbled into her beer. While she was contemplating the tipster’s offer, someone else sat down next to the tipster and hung their arm on his shoulders.

“What is this, I see, James? Are you trying to pull a fraud on yet another young lady?”

Crowe looked up from her glass upon recognizing the baritone voice. Gladiolus Amicitia flashed a grin at her before once again gazing half-threateningly at the tipster.

“Lestallum’s way too full of your likes, buddy,” the hunter resumed in a nonchalant voice. “If one of you disappears - say, during a truck accident or something - no one will probably take notice.”

The tipster’s Adam’s apple bobbed once. “Come on, now… no need to get irrational.”

If she hadn’t been too tipsy, Crowe would have probably laughed. As it was, she simply emptied the rest of her glass’ content while the tipster handed her 500 gil for each sabertusk claws that she had brought. As she put the glass back down and started counting the cash, the former Crownsguard took over the tipster’s seat next to Crowe.

“You didn’t have to do it, you know,” she mumbled.

“No, but I still did anyway,” he replied with a smile. “How’re you holding up? Heard you just went on an entire week on the hunt.”

“Well, thanks to you, I now have some money for dinner.” Crowe waved the wad of cash from the tipster before pocketing it inside her leather jacket. “But, yeah. Hunts are getting tougher nowadays. Not much wildlife left around Lestallum anymore. Just daemons.”

“Tell me about it. Sometimes I feel bad having to kill an anak to eat.”

“Well, I don’t.”

Gladiolus chuckled into his freshly-poured beer. “It’s just like you to say that.”

“Yeah? Why’d you think that?”

Placing her elbow against the bar counter, Crowe rested her cheek on her knuckles and took a good look at the man sitting before her. Gladiolus was, by any standards, a beautiful man. Crowe would be blind to not notice it in the years of their friendship, which had ironically started when they almost killed each other during a hunt.

Too bad that he wasn’t interested in women.

“Well, you don’t believe in the prophecy,” replied the King's Shield after taking a swig from his glass. “Who else is heartless enough to not believe our King of Light will return and save us all from the darkness?”

Crowe scoffed. “I’m not being heartless, just logical.”

This time, it was his turn to take a good, long look at her. “Crowe, you used to be a Glaive. You, out of anyone else on Eos, know just how real the Crystal’s power is.”

Crowe maintained her gaze on him. “Yeah, and what good did that power do to Insomnia?”

When Gladiolus didn’t immediately answer, she continued, “It’s easy for someone like you to say that you believe in the prophecy. You are bred into that kind of life. There’s nothing else that you can do but believe, otherwise your entire life up to this point is meaningless.”

He was silent at first, but eventually let out an uneasy chuckle. “I guess you got me there…”

Crowe scoffed yet again before turning her attention away to her empty beer glass. A part of her ached to apologize. Yet, when she opened her mouth, all that came out was, “Why are you here, anyway? Isn’t someone waiting for you at home?”

“Yeah. Thought I’d check up on you first, though,” he replied. “But I can understand if my company’s not what you’re looking for.”

Gladio finished the rest of his beer in big gulps before stepping off and tapping Crowe gently on her shoulder. “You know, it’s good to let yourself have hope. You should try it sometimes.”

Crowe chuckled dryly. “Sure, I’ll try to remember.”

After she was left alone, Crowe waved for another glass of beer, but the bartender was too busy with another customer. So she was left with nothing else to do but stare at the bottom of her empty glass, trying to remember when she did last let herself have hope.

Definitely before Altissia.

Maybe in the days before Insomnia’s fall.

One of those days, Crowe remembered being summoned to the Citadel. She hadn’t been told who it was she was meeting, and was surprised to find herself in the office of the Marshal himself. But nothing really prepared her for what he was going to tell her next.

There is a spy in the Kingsglaive, Cor Leonis said. Will you help me find out who it is?

For two full seconds, Crowe had expected the Marshal to break his stern expression and told her that it was all a joke. Of course, it didn’t happen. Instead, he laid out to her all the possible worst circumstances that could unfold in the following days. A fake peace treaty. A crown city taken over. Her brother-in-arms framed and/or taken prisoners.

What else could she do but to say yes and be hopeful in her hypothetical success?

Then the tire of her motorcycle exploded, and Crowe was flung head-first onto a highway just off Leide. Everything happened so fast - she could barely cast a protective spell before hitting the asphalt like a stringless puppet. Her world spun, her breaths bated. There was a taste of copper on the tip of her tongue. And the _pain_ …

After what felt like forever, Crowe cracked open one eye. The first thing that she saw was the midday Leiden sun glaring down at her. There were cicadas screaming from somewhere nearby. Then, a shadow fell over her, followed with a glint from a curved dagger. Luche Lazarus' face came next into her view, his familiar charming smirk was twisted and sadistic-looking.

Suddenly, the screaming cicadas morphed into screams of actual people. The heat of the sun was also no longer there, replaced by heat from actual fire. She was back in Insomnia, and the entire city was aflame. Amid the cracking, collapsing skyscrapers, two giants butted fists. From one giant’s shoulder, Nyx sprung forward, armed with one kukri. Half of his body was burning bright like a star.

Crowe would have screamed, but all that she could do instead was blink awake. Within seconds, she was back again in a dingy bar in Lestallum, with her empty beer glass. Gone was the sun, the burning city, and her dying brother.

As her heartbeat was gradually slowing down, Crowe noticed that someone had placed a hand on her shoulder and shaken her awake. She turned aside groggily on the bar counter, letting her eyes slowly adjust to the features of the man that had been trying to wake her. Cropped short black hair and ice-blue eyes gradually came into her view - the very same one that had visited her in the dream.

"Cor Leonis…?"

The Marshal himself huffed. "It's been a while, Crowe."

It took Crowe a full moment to realize that she wasn't still dreaming.

And when she did, she wanted immediately to be back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The door of the bar was banged open, causing various passersby on the main street of Lestallum to turn their heads. Crowe emerged from inside the bar not long after, looking furiously back over one of her shoulders.

“I said no,” she spat. “How many times do I have to tell you? I am _never_ going to join your Kingsglaive.”

“It is not _my_ Kingsglaive, Crowe,” replied Cor. His voice was calm and steady, a direct opposite of Crowe’s emotional tone. “Technically, it is _your_ Kingsglaive. You’re the only Glaive still loyal to the Crown that made it out of Insomnia alive. There is no one else like you left on the entire Eos.”

Crowe rolled her eyes. She heard a similar sentence coming out of that mouth before, assuring her that she was the only one he could rely on to prevent a certain impending doom… she shouldn’t have believed him then, and she wasn’t going to believe him now.

“Kingsglaive is _dead_ ,” she replied. “It died along with King Regis…” _and Nyx_ , but Crowe stopped herself before saying the last two words out loud.

Instead, Crowe made a turn and sprung up to the steps of an apartment building. She pulled open the door - however, Cor’s hand shot over her shoulder and shut it closed.

“It doesn’t have to be, Crowe,” muttered Cor. He was close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath brushing against her ear. “The Kingsglaive lives on… in _you_. We can still revive it together.”

Silence fell between the two of them. Crowe took a moment to breathe in and out, then turned on her heel to face the Marshal. Neither of their expressions were readable.

Then, a heartbeat later, Crowe rammed ahead with one shoulder. Cor, who had not anticipated the attack, failed to step aside and fell right on his behind with a pained grunt. He blinked rapidly before looking up, dazed and confused.

“If I still had magic, you’d be rolling around in fire now,” Crowe stated. “Go find someone else, Marshal. I’m not the Glaive you’re looking for.”

Cor opened his mouth, but before he could utter a single word, Crowe was already slamming the door closed.

* * *

“... _Not the Glaive you're looking for, huh?_ ”

Crowe opened her eyes and saw a vast expanse of green field under sunny sky. She blinked a couple of times before looking around, trying to find where the source of the voice was. Then, she took a step back, and sensed that someone else was standing there.

A breeze picked up, bringing up the blades of grass around her. Amid the green, Crowe spotted a streak of blue fabric dance away from the shoulder of the person standing behind her.

“Nyx…?”

Crowe could feel her heart skip a beat. The other person didn’t seem to share her apprehension, however, judging from how he snickered.

“That was a nice line, I gotta admit.” From the shadow in the ground, she could see Nyx crossing his arms. “But just how long are you going to run away, Crowe?”

Warmth was growing in her throat. She wanted to turn around, but was afraid that this… dream? Illusion? Whatever this was… would dissolve the moment she did.

“You’re not here anymore, Nyx,” she croaked. “You’ve got no right telling me how to live my life.”

Nyx hummed. “You got a point there.”

There was a creak on the grass, and Crowe imagined Nyx turning around to face her. “Well, things may seem bleak now, but I promise you this, Crowe: it _will_ get better.”

Crowe closed her eyes, hoping that it could help her feel Nyx's presence better. But all that she could do was hear his disembodied voice.

“All you gotta do is believe it.”

Crowe opened her eyes, and she was once again lying on her bed in Lestallum. There was no sun - had not been for years. The light that seeped in from the shuttered window came from the million-watt lamps that were mounted on the city walls to shun daemons. When she moved to sit on her bed, Crowe realized that her eyes and cheeks were damp with tears.

A soft curse escaped her as she went to the bathroom. She got an appointment in a couple of hours with EXINERIS - the highest paying employer in Lestallum before and after the Long Night - and the last thing that she needed was a swollen face.

Staring at her soaked reflection on the mirror, Crowe thought back of what she saw and heard in her dream. _All that you gotta do is believe it_. But believe what, Nyx? She wanted to ask. That things were really going to get better soon? That his sacrifices weren’t for nothing, after all?

Before her tears threatened to spill again, Crowe stooped to splash more water on her face and began to dress up.

* * *

“Welcome to EXINERIS! Thanks again for answering the adverts…” The engineer took a glance at her clipboard before looking back up and smiling. “... Crowe! So I take it you’ve been in the area around the reactor before, huh?”

Crowe fixed a smile on her lips before answering, “Yup! I was down there to clear up a couple of daemons that were roaming around the area.”

“Awesome! Well, we actually have quite a number of new people joining since last month. Since you already had some experience in the location, I was wondering if you would be up for being paired with a newcomer?”

“Sure thing.”

“Great! Come over this way, then. I’ll introduce you to each other.”

The engineer led you out of the office room to walk down the hallway towards a door. At one point, Crowe could feel the muscles around her lips began to feel sore from too much smiling. Then, when she saw who it was that she saw standing beyond the door, she felt her smile shrink in an instance.

“Crowe, meet Cor. Cor, this is Crowe. She’s going to guide you around the reactor today.”

“Thank you very much, Serena.”

“You’re very welcome. Good luck, both of you!”

Crowe could feel the engineer's hand tap on her shoulder, but she said nothing back. She was positive anything that would leave her lips at that point would come out as a curse word.

* * *

The walk to the reactor was mostly quiet. Crowe opened her mouth only when necessary, like telling Cor which turns to take, but not for much else. Not even to tell him to be careful when climbing down the rocky valley where the meteor shards were located. It wasn’t exactly a stellar guide job, and she was most probably going to get her ass handed to her if Cor reported her. But in that specific moment, with her specific mood at the time, she just couldn’t be bothered to put in more effort.

“Say, Crowe…,” Cor called out suddenly, causing her to jump in surprise.

Crowe turned and directed her flashlight on the Marshal’s face, hoping that the darkness would at least mask her bewildered voice. “What is it?”

Cor’s face looked hesitant. It may have been a trick of the light, though. Somehow Crowe just couldn't imagine the Marshal being the kind of person who would freely show his hesitation.

“All these years, I've always been wondering what exactly happened to you the night before Insomnia fell,” he said. “You were attacked, weren't you? That's why you couldn't make it all the way to Tenebrae. Who was behind it, actually?”

Crowe chuckled darkly. "All these years, and you're still waiting for my report, huh? Aren't I glad that you weren't my commanding officer."

When she glanced at Cor's direction, Crowe saw that his lips had thinned. She couldn't care less that her words got him upset, though. After all, it was _his_ fault that Nyx died, and countless other people. She let out a sigh.

"Marshal, why did you ask me to help you find the spy in Kingsglaive?" The question came out of Crowe's mouth before she could think better of it. "What did you…"

Before she could finish her sentence, though, Crowe stopped abruptly as she saw movements in the dark. She unsheathed her kukri, but it was a tad too late. The sword of a daemon that hunters in Lestallum had not-so-affectionately nicknamed Yojimbo struck down too hard for her to block, and its steel blade soon slashed diagonally across her torso.

"Crowe!!"

She could hear Cor calling out for her. More and more, however, her vision started to blur, sending the already dim landscape further into darkness. The wound on her torso had seemed unreal, at first. It started out as a long rip on her shirt rapidly being stained with blood. But, at one point, the pain exploded and it became the only thing that occupied her mind.

It didn't take long for Crowe to keel over on the rocky ground and lose consciousness. The last thing that she heard was the clashing of swords above her as Cor fought off the daemon.

* * *

When Crowe regained some consciousness again, she heard the sound of a glass shattering somewhere above here. And then another. Her eyes cracked open and she saw little sparkles of blue-green light that congregated around her torso. It reminded her of a certain type of healing spell that she used to cast in another lifetime.

Beyond those lights, she could see Cor's face. His blue eyes gazed unwaveringly down at her, with a deep knot between them.

That was… odd. She didn't know the Marshal could look so worried. Crowe tried to reach up, but her entire arm felt so stiff and heavy. In the end, Cor caught her hand midair, and brought it to his lips.

"Crowe, I am so sorry… I couldn't protect you - not then, and not even now."

His words sounded like an echo from far away, like a feverish dream. In fact, Crowe did feel feverish, and she was quite sure that she was dreaming all of this. There was no way Cor The Immortal was fervently apologizing to her while clinging to her limp, bleeding body.

With that thought, Crowe closed her eyes, and succumbed back immediately to the warm and dark embrace of sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

When Crowe opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in the middle of sylleblosssoms field. Other than that, she wasn’t sure where she was located exactly. The entire area was shrouded by thin fog, rendering everything except the flowers into blurry shadows.

And as if Crowe needed more evidence that she was dreaming, a face with the bluest eyes smiled down to her, framed by golden strands of hair.

Crowe pushed herself up to her elbows, and just stared. Meanwhile, Lunafreya pushed one chestnut strand to the back of the other woman’s ear. “It’s been a while, Crowe.”

“Don’t,” Crowe snapped. “I know how this dream thing works. You’re here to tell me something, and once you do, you’re going to disappear.

“So just… for this once, just be quiet and _let me look at you_.”

Lunafreya’s smile widened and she tilted her head to the side. “I am sensing that at least one of us is having difficulty moving on.”

“Nope,” replied Crowe. “I refuse to move on. There’s a difference, m’lady.”

She reached out to Lunafreya’s hand and was surprised to find it tangible. It was missing warmth, though, but considering their situations, Crowe supposed she shouldn’t have been too picky.

“Hey, Luna…”

“Yes, my dearest?”

Crowe opened her mouth to ask her questions, but then closed it again. _Did you ever forgive me?_ She actually wanted to ask. _For arriving too late on that altar, for failing to protect you._

But instead, what she ended up asking was, “Is it actually you who sent Cor Leonis my way?”

A soft hum was what she got as an answer. “Perhaps. You seem to be needing some help, and a little bit of a push in the right direction.”

Lunafreya’s fingers found their way to hers and Crowe swallowed thickly. “But what if I don’t want any help?”

“Then that is too bad, Crowe.”

Crowe looked up and was immediately lost in the pair of ocean-blue eyes that stared right back into her own. She tugged gently at Luna’s hand and leaned in. Their lips were almost touching when she muttered, “Will you please forgive me?”

She could almost sense Lunafreya’s smile on her lips. “Silly girl. You have always been forgiven.”

Smooth, fair hand then cupped gently at Crowe’s cheek. “Now the real question is: are you ready to forgive yourself?”

Crowe opened her eyes, and all that she saw was the ceiling in her own studio apartment in Lestallum. Gone were the sylleblossoms, and gone was Lunafreya, the Last Oracle. Her touch on Crowe's cheek lingered until she was fully awake.

Crowe tried to get up to her elbows - similar to what she did in her dream. But even making the smallest movement was painful, so she let herself fall back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. After a minute, Crowe noticed that there was a thick layer of bandages that wrapped her torso, and the memories of what happened near the EXINERIS reactor came back to her.

How did she get home? Crowe tried to dig deep into her mind to remember, but came up with nothing. At one point, though, she turned her head to face the nightstand and saw a bottle of potion there. Its magic glowed a soft blue-green color under the lights that seeped in from her shuttered window.

Crowe thought of the ‘dream’ that she had before the one with Lunafreya - the one where Cor used a potion bottle to heal her wound after being attacked by the Yojimbo. Maybe it wasn’t a dream, after all. And maybe it was him who had brought her home. Somehow, someway.

Which meant that she must have owed her life to the Marshal.

Letting her head sink into the pillow, Crowe closed her eyes and let out a soft, frustrated sigh.

* * *

Two weeks after the incident, Crowe's wound had mostly recovered, but she still felt too weak to hunt. Which was a problem, because she still needed to pay rent and get food.

And so, she had to improvise. Dug deep into the nooks and crannies in her cramped studio apartment for anything that could potentially be of value. Then she gathered everything into one cardboard box and went down to the marketplace.

With the amount of people coming into Lestallum from all over Eos, it usually took weeks before someone could secure a spot in the market. But Crowe was lucky enough to know a man who was a regular seller there. When he saw her approaching with her box, he simply scooted aside to give her some space.

"Tough hunt, huh?" he asked, eyes trailing to a glimpse of bandage that was peeking from under the collar of her shirt.

"You've got no idea," replied Crowe, all the while starting to take her stuff out of the cardboard box one by one.

The man clicked his tongue. "The world is growing more and more dangerous these days. That's why I stopped being a hunter years ago, even before all this Long Night crap started."

"I know. You only say that every time you see me."

"Ah, is that so? Well, it doesn't make it less true."

"I guess not."

Eventually, the conversation died down and Crowe could resume laying up her goods in peace. There weren't so many of them, objectively speaking. One old dagger sheath, an extra hunting belt that she hardly used, and an old pair of high-heeled shoes were among several things that she could offer. All laid up on a black plastic sheet that she held down by sitting cross-legged on one side of it. Her free hand flipped and twirled at her one and only Oracle Ascension coin while she waited.

Over the course of the day, few people seemed to show interest. One of them was a little girl that stared wide-eyed at the high-heeled shoes. Crowe smiled when it happened. If she wasn't so strapped for money, she'd probably be tempted to give the shoes away for free.

Eventually, the guy that had shared his market stall space with Crowe left to get something to eat. Shortly after the guy left, a customer picked up something from Crowe's personal trove. Right off the bat, they reached for a necklace with ruby red stone - the very same one that she had received after her official appointment as a Mage in Kingsglaive. Crowe held back her breath as she watched it all unfold.

"So… how much is this?"

When Crowe opened her mouth to answer the question, it had felt dry. "What are you doing here, Libs?"

Libertus grimaced at her before placing the necklace back to its original spot. "Heard from little birds that you got hurt, so I thought of visiting. Your apartment was empty, though."

Crowe arched one eyebrow. "Little birds?"

"Hunters are humans - they gossip, too." Libertus shrugged. "And there are only so many former Glaives that switched professions into hunting these days."

"Only so many former Glaives that are still alive these days, you mean?"

"Yeah, that little thing, you know."

Crowe stared at him, and Libertus looked down. He had hoped that she would laugh, like she used to do whenever he made morbid jokes. But the hardness in her eyes told him that she wasn't amused.

"... Well, fuck all of that, honestly." Turning his gaze back to Crowe, Libertus asked, "Can I get you a beer, Crowe? Please? For the old times' sake?"

As her initial reply, Crowe let out a sigh. Then she looked straight into Libertus' eyes and felt guilty for even thinking of saying no. "Fine. Give me 15 minutes to wrap up."

Libertus grinned. "Sweet. Here, I'll help you out."

* * *

30 minutes later, Crowe found herself sitting in a bar. She felt bad - firstly for leaving without telling the market guy a word, and secondly for taking the bait that Libertus threw her way.

"Here's your beer, Crowe."

 _Speak of the daemon…_ Crowe took the pint from Libertus and peered at him. There was still a part of her that refused to believe he was really there in person.

In turn, Libertus sighed. "You know, I get that you're still mad at me, after how things went down in Galahd…"

Crowe brought her beer glass to her lips to hide her own sigh. "I'm not mad, Libs. Just… wondering why you're in Lestallum is all."

"Same reason why the rest of Eos is heading this way, I guess." Libertus shrugged before he, too, sipped at his own beer. "The daemons… they're everywhere now. Even in the sea. I ran into one while sailing back to the mainland. Barely could flee with my life."

Crowe's gaze on Libertus softened. "Well, I'm glad you made it out alive."

"Thanks." He grinned. "And how are you? Are your wounds healing well?"

Crowe didn't expect to be touched by such simple words. And yet, she did. Warmth grew inside her chest and climbed up to her eyes. This was the Libertus that she remembered: warm and kind, and always worried about her. Her last living brother.

Quietly, she nodded and cast her eyes down. "It's not so bad anymore now. I got some potion bottles, so it helped."

"Potion bottles? Like the ones they gave us back in Kingsglaive?"

"Yeah."

"That's good… I wonder where you got them from, though. It's not like there is still a king around to make them anymore."

That made her think back on Cor, carrying all these precious and rare potion bottles, only to smash them all over her limp body. _What was he thinking?_ She couldn't help but wonder. _Why waste them all on me?_

"Oh, well. All those rumors about the returning King of Light must be true, then," concluded Libertus in a nonchalant tone before nursing his beer again.

Crowe grimaced. "Really? Even you believe in that myth?"

Libertus placed his glass back on the coaster after letting out a satisfied sigh. There was barely any beer left in the glass. "Well, since I've accepted that Nyx is gone, I suppose it's time to move on to another wishful lie."

Silence fell between the two of them, which was intermingled with the chatter and general activities inside the bar. Then, Crowe reached out to touch the back of Libertus' hand.

"I miss him, too," she declared quietly. "To be honest, I would rather Nyx return to us… someday, someway… instead of some king."

Libertus looked at her with an unreadable expression. Then his palm opened to grasp at Crowe's fingers that were already on his hand. Their fingers soon entwined, and before Crowe knew it, Libertus was already leaning in closer. His lips barely brushed against hers when she stood hurriedly up and away from the bar stool, her heart thundering in her ears.

 _What in the actual fuck_ , was what she thought. But what she actually said was, "I'm sorry, Libs… but I can't."

Then she turned around on her heel and marched towards the exit, completely forgetting to pay for her beer.


	4. Chapter 4

After that awkward encounter with Libertus, Crowe stopped going to the market. She sold her stuff online instead (why didn't she think of it sooner?), taking care to use a different social media handle than the one that Libertus was familiar with.

She also deliberately let his calls ring without picking them up. It made her feel bad. For all of five minutes, Crowe really thought that she got one of her brothers back in her life again. And then he went ahead and did _that._

Crowe let out a sigh as the goosebumps-inducing memory returned. As much as she loved Libertus, she never once thought of him as anything other than a brother. But since he clearly didn't share the sentiment, she couldn't help but wonder if reconciliation between the two of them would ever be possible?

The thought gnawed at her mind for days. Eventually, Crowe gave in and reached out to the only person that she could call her friend - which was none other than Gladiolus Amicitia.

She asked him to meet at a different bar than the one that she often frequented, and he had agreed. Not long after she received her own pint from the bartender, Gladiolus arrived. "Damn… couldn't you find an even more obscure and depressing bar than this one?"

Crowe chuckled grimly. Then she turned to face Gladiolus and her smile instantly turned into a frown. "… The hell are you wearing?"

"What? This old thing?" asked Gladiolus nonchalantly, one hand patting down the black Kingsglaive uniform that he was wearing. "I thought you might appreciate it."

Crowe narrowed her eyes in reply. "I think I would rather you take it all off, to be honest."

"How salacious, Crowe." Gladiolus chuckled, then paused to give his order to the bartender.

"I see your boyfriend's vocabulary is rubbing off on you, too," she retorted.

"We've been living together for almost 2 years. What did you expect?"

“You not being a dumb sheep, for one. But I guess I’m aiming for the stars here.”

When Crowe glanced at Gladiolus next, she noticed the absence of a smile on his face. She knew, then, that she must have crossed a line somewhere. Her gaze went away towards the bottles of spirits displayed behind the bar. But as always, apologies refused to come out from her mouth.

At one point, she heard a sigh. “The Marshal was my commanding officer, you know. When he asked me to join… I couldn’t just say no. You know how these things are.”

Crowe said nothing. All the while, the bartender appeared and handed Gladiolus his pint. He took it, said thanks, and then directed his smile at Crowe. "Alright, now that the beer is here: get on with it. I doubt you called me all the way here just to bitch about all the wrong choices that I’ve made in my life."

Sensing the barbs in her friend's voice, Crowe let out a sigh. Then she took a moment to down several gulps from her own glass. She needed to get more buzzed if she wanted to tell Gladiolus everything that had transpired a few days ago.

As Crowe recalled the brief kiss that she shared with Libertus, she couldn't help but feel goosebumps on her arm once again. It was just so awkward, and not to mention unexpected. One second, the two of them were reminiscing about Nyx, and the next second…

"... Ugh, that does sound quite cringey." Gladiolus grimaced. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Crowe.”

"Thanks… I appreciate that." Crowe managed to mutter as she pulled herself back from the past to the current moment, and slowly put her focus back to the glass in her hand.

"And you never had even a fleeting suspicion that this guy was ever into you?"

Gladiolus put his unfinished glass down before looking at Crowe questioningly. The ex-Glaive glanced around, never exactly meeting his gaze. She tried to remember if she ever encountered any signs of Libertus being interested in her romantically - but she came up with nothing.

If anything, she eventually remembered an entirely different memory: that of Marshal Cor Leonis apologizing to her and kissing her hand a couple of weeks earlier. Once again, Crowe felt hairs rising on her arms, but it was with a different feeling this time. There was no awkwardness in it at all. In fact, it almost felt… right somehow, having his arm wrapped around her, his lips touching her skin…

"Well, you don't have to answer if you don't want to…," resumed Gladiolus. His tone was sympathetic, but it was enough to jolt Crowe from her stray thoughts. He directed a concerned look at the ex-Glaive. “Hey. You okay?”

“Yeah…,” replied Crowe automatically. “I just… I think I need to go.”

“Alright. Let me first get the tab, then I can bring you home.”

Crowe nodded and let the bartender take away her empty glass. Her head felt slightly dizzy even though she had only drunk a pint of beer. She stood to her feet next and almost stumbled upon the bar stool. Fortunately, though, Gladiolus was there to catch her. His strong arm held her safe and steady, much like Cor’s when he…

 _Oh, drat it_.

* * *

The walk back home took twice as long as the walk out of her home. But Crowe probably shouldn't have complained - without Gladiolus, she probably wouldn't have even reached home. As soon as they arrived at her door, Crowe turned to him.

"Thanks for bringing me home," she said. Then, after a moment's hesitation, "You know… you don't actually look so bad in that uniform."

Gladiolus smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate that. Have a good rest, Crowe."

"You, too."

They waved goodbyes and Crowe slipped into her apartment, heading straight to the bed. Seeing her friend's smile made her feel somewhat better, less like she was in a dump. Who knew that all she had to do to improve her mood was to say something _nice_ to someone for once?

Crowe glanced at her phone. In the beginning, Libertus had called her every day without fail. After a few days, though, he stopped calling altogether. Silently, Crowe reached out to her phone, unlocked it, and navigated to the call history. Libertus’ name burned brightly on the screen before she tapped on it. The call’s connecting tone rang intermittently in her ear with her own heartbeat.

“… Hello?”

Libertus’ voice sounded cautious when he finally picked up. Crowe drew in a long puff of breath. “Hey, Libs. I know I’m probably a couple of days late in calling you back… but I think you still deserve an explanation.”

“Uh, yeah, ‘bout that…”

Something heavy sunk deep somewhere in the depth of her stomach. Crowe quickly reigned herself in, however, before she could flake and ended the call. After the radio silence, the least that she could do was listen completely to what Libertus had to say.

“I appreciate this, first of all. Don’t get me wrong. But you kinda caught me in a bad time.”

Crowe opened her mouth to ask what he meant. However, she suddenly heard gunshots in the background, followed with what sounded like someone shouting in the background, “For hearth and home!!”

Libertus cursed into the phone. “Sorry, Crowe. I gotta go. See ya real soon.”

The call ended a short moment later, but Crowe couldn’t bring herself to take her phone away from her ear. The heaviness in her stomach grew and grew until it felt like it anchored her entire being down. Questions and fear and disbelief ran rampage inside her head.

Without wasting any more minutes, she pushed herself off the bed and hastily made her way out of the door.

* * *

It didn't take long for Crowe to find the new headquarters of Kingsglaive - although full courtesy had to be given, of course, to Gladiolus. In the span of several weeks since she got her injury, the group had apparently grown big enough to take over a former EXINERIS warehouse in downtown Lestallum. The place was swarming with young people, all dressed in Kingsglaive uniform in various states of wear. Some of them were either too young or unlucky enough to not be able to find a uniform in their size.

The sight made Crowe's anger bubble even more. Her eyes swept around the precinct with equal measures of impatience and annoyance. She was just about to pull a guy aside for an interrogation when the sight of a familiar face came into a corner of her vision, tall enough to hover over a few other people that were surrounding him, who couldn't seem to agree whether to call him Marshal or Captain.

With newly formed determination, Crowe stomped her way closer towards the small crowd. It took Cor a moment before he noticed her presence, but when his ice-blue eyes met her light brown ones, there was barely any surprise reflected there.

Crowe sensed that, so she refrained from beating around the bush and straight up asked, "Where the hell did you send Libertus Ostium to?"

She could feel all eyes were on the two of them in an instance. Crowe tried to read Cor's expression, gauging if there was any hint of recognition. In a passing, absurd thought, she couldn't help but conclude that the Immortal Marshal could have made a decent poker player.

"I'm afraid mission details are classified," he eventually declared. "Now if you'll excuse me, Crowe. I have some pressing matters to attend to."

If there hadn't been so many eye witnesses, Crowe would have been very tempted to punch the older man. As it was, she could only blurt, "Then let me join the Kingsglaive."

Cor stopped in his track. Finally getting his attention, Crowe didn't waste much of her breath to resume, "I was just in contact with Libertus and his team. They're in trouble. I'll gladly be sent in as their backup."

Crowe heard whispers begin to brew among the Glaives. She couldn't care less about them, though. All of her focus was on the man standing before her, the one that had caused all the unhappiness in her life in the past few years. If she had to fight her way to save Libertus, then so be it.

"That could be arranged." The Marshal turned around to finally face her completely. "Go get yourself equipped in the armory and come find me."

Crowe blinked, not expecting that the Marshal would agree with her proposal immediately. Later, it occurred to her that she could have asked where the armory exactly was, but her pride prevented her to even take the slightest glance back.


	5. Chapter 5

The truck's engine roared as it drove along the dark, wounding road of Duscae. Even before the Long Night, driving through this mountainous part of Lucis at night was already nerve-wracking. After the sun no longer rose, most of the wildlife that prowled the woods flanking the highway had been replaced by daemons, adding the danger level tenfold.

"The truck's going to drop us by the entrance of the Disc," explained Cor back in Lestallum. "From there, it's all up to us to find the others."

But that was all before they got onto the car. During the entire ride, not once did Cor utter a single word. Crowe glanced at his direction every once in a while, trying to guess what he was thinking. There was little else that she could do, sitting there at the back of a truck heading to the heart of a dark forest.

At one point, their eyes met, and Crowe decided it was a good time to open her mouth, "I didn't expect you to actually come with me. Don't you have businesses to do, managing the Kingsglaive?"

Cor huffed. "Those men are my responsibilities. I was the one who sent them on a mission - it's my duty to ensure their return."

"Is that so," drawled Crowe. "For a second there I thought this was all a test to prove my worth or something."

Cor didn't immediately reply, though he ended up saying, "You may treat it as such, if you so wish."

Neither of them said a word more until they finally arrived at the Disc of Cauthess. The truck's driver helped them unload their stuff, wished them good luck, and then went on his merry way.

Cor fixed the strap of his rucksack before announcing, "This way. I know a haven nearby where we can regroup and replenish our strengths."

"No. I'm done resting and recovering," she retorted before walking ahead. "We can rest once we find the others."

"Crowe…"

Cor's hand caught her upper arm. If it had been someone else, Crowe would have shaken him off. As it was, she stood rigidly, being reminded of the last time that same hand had held her own before his lips…

"Is everything alright?" Cor asked, and her thoughts returned back to the present. There may have been worry in his expression, but it was too dark to be sure. "Did your wounds-?"

"I am _fine_ ," Crowe snapped. "I told you I've recovered already."

Cor watched her in silence. The little light that was there - mostly from the meteor in the center of the crater ahead - danced on her skin and her almost unruly hair. Seeing it in that moment made him wonder how it would feel like to run his fingers along those long, dark strands.

"Don't just stare," she scolded. "Let me go already."

Cor hummed, a small part of him regretting the loss of the beautiful imagery. Then he did as he was told and let go of Crowe, but not before asking, "I was just wondering, now that we're here… are you really sure about joining Kingsglaive?"

"Wow. This really is a test, huh?" Crowe chuckled dryly. "You know what, maybe I'll answer that if you tell me more about this mission that had you sending Libs and his team to… wherever we are heading right now."

Cor thought deeply and carefully before answering the question. For a moment, the only sound that could be heard between them was the crunch of their boots against the rocky path. He didn't want to scare Crowe from joining the Kingsglaive, but at the same time he knew that she'd have an even more serious counter reaction if she realized that she'd been lied to.

In the end, he decided to tell her the truth - even just part of it. "I have assigned them a mission to find the Tomb of the Mystic - the Founder King of Lucis."

"What? Why?" Crowe stopped and turned to him. Her expression looked confused, at first, before it slowly morphed into realization. "Oh, I see. You're one of those people, aren't you? The ones who believe in the prophesied return of a king that would save us all from the darkness?"

"Well…"

She cut him with a scoff. "I can't believe you just sent men to die like that for a mere myth."

Cor's eyebrow perked. "A myth, you said."

"Yeah, that's all it is, isn't it?" Crowe fumed along as she walked further into the mountain. "Do you seriously think the Founder King's going to just walk out of there and save us all, while all this time he's been playing dead and leaving his capital city crushed into ruins?"

Cor said nothing. He thought long and hard of what to say without pushing Crowe further over the edge. In the end, he carefully asked, "Why don't you believe in the prophecy, Crowe?"

Crowe stopped on her track and drew in a long, shivering breath. "It all just… sounds too good to be true, don’t you think? An empty hope that people clung onto desperately just so they could continue on living."

Crowe looked listlessly through the darkness ahead of them as she spoke, and Cor thought he had never seen anyone so lonely. He opened his mouth, and carefully offered, "I do not think giving people hope is necessarily a bad thing."

"Perhaps not," she retorted. "But you shouldn't lie to them, either."

"But how do you know that it's a lie when it hasn't happened yet?"

Silence. After waiting several moments for Crowe's reply, Cor let out a sigh. "I suppose there is another advantage to a prophecy: you already know whether or not you're failing before the failure itself even happens."

He paused to look down at his own hand. "What happened in Insomnia was… my fault. Because of my miscalculations, I let two good friends die. And I even failed the King's last order, which was to protect the citizens of Insomnia."

Cor tilted his head up, and this time, Crowe was looking back at him. "Perhaps if I do my part in realizing the prophecy, I can finally make amends. Right my wrongs, in some way."

Crowe's mouth was agape. Of all things, she didn't expect that Cor would actually admit his failings in Insomnia so easily. In her mind, she had always expected some resistance - it matched more with the image of the legendary Immortal Marshal.

… No, she couldn’t just accept this. There must be something else that he was planning, something that would catch her as she was putting her guard down and drag her down the abyss of regret and disappointment.

And so, after steeling herself, Crowe declared, "I'm not entirely sure if that's how you're supposed to make amends, Marshal."

Cor blinked slowly. "How am I supposed to make amends, then?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. Something more personal and… sincere."

He took a moment to let her words sink in. "Is that how I'm supposed to make amends to you, Crowe?"

Crowe didn't reply, didn't even dare look in his direction. All the while, Cor took a couple steps forward, his intense blue eyes were completely transfixed on her. Then, at one point, he lifted one hand and slowly, carefully directed her chin so that she was looking directly at him.

Crowe's heart skipped a beat. "If you're just trying to get an answer out of me, Cor, I swear to Astrals…"

"Not really," he muttered. "Although I would very much like to kiss you, if you'll allow it."

"Well, shut up and kiss me, then."

And he did.

Cor's lips felt dry and chapped on her lips, but otherwise he kissed her with an utmost care. Crowe was left with no other choice but to kiss back. Her eyes fluttered to a close and her hands held steadily onto his nape as the kiss deepened. At one point, the Marshal bit gently at her lower lip and a small noise escaped the back of Crowe's throat.

When did she last moan like that from a kiss? Crowe tried to dig deep into her memories from the past years and came up with nothing. Not until she went back all the way to Altissia, when she shared a wonderful night with Luna before her communion with the Hydraean. _How tragic_ , Crowe thought. The first person that managed to touch her so intimately after all these years turned out to be none other than Cor Leonis.

Of course, she didn't forget the awkward kiss that she shared with Libertus less than a week ago. At once, Crowe felt guilt growing inside the pit of her stomach and she pulled back. Cor tried to chase after her, at first, but then relented. Although his blue eyes stayed lingering on her lips.

"… I'm sorry," Cor said, breaking the awkward silence.

Crowe grimaced and shook her head. "Don't be. I did ask you to kiss me."

"I meant to apologize for asking you about Altissia, back at the reactor," he corrected. "Because of that…"

The Marshal's voice trailed off as his hand ghosted over the scar that was peeking out from under her top. Crowe let out a sigh and tugged her collar up. Before she could say anything, however, she could hear a rustling of leaves coming from somewhere on her side, and she was reminded again why they were there in the first place.

"Marshal, did you hear that?"

Cor nodded. His own hand ghosted over the hilt of his sword. "Yeah. Crystal clear."

"Good. Well, there's one thing that I have to ask you."

"What is it?"

In the dark, Cor could hear a steel blade being unsheathed. "The next time I'm wounded, don't waste your potion bottles on me."

Cor was just about to open his mouth when Crowe abruptly dashed away into the darkness. Cursing, he unsheathed his sword and dashed after her.


	6. Chapter 6

The more she chased after the sound, the further it seemed to get away from her. Crowe cursed under her breath and wished that her legs could run faster. Maybe Cor was right, she thought grimly. Maybe she still hadn't fully recovered after all…

"Crowe! On your right!"

With a gasp, Crowe ducked to her left, just in time to evade a large hook that would have been aimed at her head. She struck up with her dagger, and Cor followed it up by slashing the limb down with his sword. The creature screeched loudly and stepped back, giving Crowe enough time to turn on the flashlight on the front of her leather jacket.

She cursed upon recognizing the creature under the limitedly illuminating light. "An Arachne? Are you kidding me??"

The Arachne screeched again before lunging forward, this time swinging its still-healthy hook. Crowe rolled aside, then jabbed at a joint on one of the creature's legs. At the same time, Cor hacked down at the hook. Their combined efforts sent the Arachne howling in pain and roiling in trails of black miasma. Crowe would have considered them as positive signs if not for the fact that she could hear the howl being echoed somewhere else.

"There are more of them," she concluded. The realization dropped like a heavy stone in the pit of her stomach.

"You don't say?" deadpanned Cor.

At one point, the Arachne leapt away and disappeared into the darkness. Crowe got onto her feet and reflexively stood back-to-back against Cor in a defensive stance. The howling had died down and was replaced with numerous ticking sounds. It started softly, at first, then gradually increased in volume and intensity. Either the source of the noise increased in number, or they were getting closer - Crowe wasn't sure which scenario she preferred.

"So what's the plan, Marshal?" she muttered. "You go that way, and I go in the other direction?"

A huff was what she got as a reply. "Better stay defensive for now - we don't know how many daemons are out there."

"I doubt knowing their exact number will help us in this situation… but alright. Let's play by your book."

Crowe spun the kukri in her hand once before returning to her stance. The noise was growing louder and more numerous. Then, one claw dashed out from inside the darkness. Crowe was about to block it with her kukri when suddenly, a gunshot echoed. Within a blink, Crowe saw the Arachne limp back into the darkness, leaving a trail of dark blood on the ground.

_What the hell?_

Crowe searched around for the source of the gun, but before she could find anything, someone yanked at her wrist. She almost stabbed the culprit until she saw a glimpse of braids under the flashlight.

"Libs!"

Libertus put a finger on his lips before gesturing at someone in the dark. "They're all yours now, Prompto! Go nuts!"

"Alright! Here we go!"

A guy with blond hair jumped down from a tree, his unbuttoned Glaive jacket flapping behind him before he landed. As Crowe ran past him, she saw him cock a gun and nodded to the Marshal as he passed by. "It's been a while, Argentum," she heard him say.

"Ah, well, it feels like only yesterday you met up with us in Keycatrich, doesn't it?" Prompto shrugged. "Or was that, like, five years ago or something? Can't really tell with the weather."

"Talk later. Eyes on target now, Argentum."

"Yes, sir!"

The screeching came back, and Prompto Argentum readied his gun. The last thing that Crowe saw was a glimpse of him firing off his gun and walking backwards before she got dragged to hide behind a stone crevice.

* * *

"Wow! That was real fun, guys!!" Prompto announced as soon as he arrived in the hideout. When he caught Crowe's gaze, he flashed a bright grin.

"So you're the girl that everyone said scolded the Marshal and dragged him all the way here, huh?" He paused to bow. "Much respect."

"Thanks… I guess," Crowe muttered before, out of embarrassment, she looked away to the dark end of the cave that they were hiding in.

From a corner of her eyes, she could see Cor glare at the gunman before turning to Libertus. "Where are the others?"

"Just up ahead. They are all guarding the tomb."

"Good. Take us there, will you?"

"Yes, sir."

Before long, all four of them started walking down the tunnel. At one point, Crowe sped up and managed to catch up with Libertus, who was leading them. She carefully tapped at his shoulder. "Hey."

"Hey to you, too." Libertus smiled. "You know, I didn't expect that you'd actually come."

"Yeah, well…" Crowe cast her eyes down. "I believe I owe you an apology."

"Eh, don't worry about it." Libertus waved. "I was drunk and stupid. I should have been the one saying sorry."

"So… we're good, then?"

"Even better. I actually got you something."

Crowe looked up and immediately saw Libertus' wide grin. She chuckled. "Yeah? What is it?"

Libertus shook his head. "I'll tell you all about it once we are out of this mess of a place."

Crowe smiled. "Alright. I'll make sure you keep your word."

They continued on walking, until at one point, they saw a group of people sitting around a fire. All of them widened their eyes upon seeing their arrival.

"It's the Marshal!"

"He really is here! Wow!"

Cor stepped forward and immediately was swarmed by the three young Glaives that were originally sitting by the fire. Subconsciously, Crowe stepped aside. Seeing them express adoration to their leader who had come to rescue them made her suddenly feel rather out of place. Crowe was thinking of turning around and leaving - maybe after saying some bullshit like keeping an eye on the Arachne colony - when Libertus suddenly called out, "Hey, Crowe! Are you going to join us?"

"Uh…"

She was going to say no, but then she caught the sight of Cor staring hard at her and remembered that she had told him that she'd join Kingsglaive back in Lestallum. She let out a sigh. "... Yeah, just a moment."

When she caught up with the others, Crowe saw that the Glaives were forming a circle around a tilted sarcophagus. In the meantime, Cor walked into the circle, his hand stretched out and hovered over the carved stone.

"This is the resting place of the founder of Lucis, also known as the Mystic King," he explained. "Declare your loyalty to him and the rest of his line, and you will be granted powers to defend humanity until the return of the True King."

At the end of his speech, Cor raised his hand above his head and revealed a stone sigil that he had been holding. The Glaives standing on Crowe's right and left gasped audibly before they stood upright and placed their right fist over their heart. Reluctantly, Crowe took the same position. Before long, all the Glaives started to recite an oath,

 _"I do swear_ _  
_ _that I serve and truly serve,_ _  
_ _and bear true allegiance to_ _  
_ _His Majesty,_ _  
_ _King Somnus Lucis Caelum I,_ _  
_ _his heirs and successors._ _  
_ _So gods be my witness_  
_and grant me thine Light,_ _  
_ for hearth and home."

The oath resounded off the stone walls around them. Crowe could feel each word resonate from somewhere deep within her, and she wasn't quite sure what to feel about it. Nostalgic, perhaps, of the good old time when she was actually feeling patriotic. Like she was a part of something bigger than herself, and that she was making some contribution to better the world.

And then, at one point, Crowe felt another sensation surging out. Before she could recognize what it was, the visions suddenly appeared and overwhelmed all her other senses. In one of her visions, she was in the dilapidated throne room of Citadel. A young man sat on the throne, holding onto the royal sword as support. An ethereal, floating figure in heavy armor floated before him, wielding an exact same sword. Within a blink, the figure charged forward to stab the man - and where his sword hit, a strong, bright light burst out to envelop the entire world.

Then, intertwining with the visions, her own memories started to pour in. Of Insomnia wrecked by fire, and of the screams of the people that were slaughtered in it. All of the destruction and suffering and death that had happened because she had _failed_.

Crowe wanted to scream, but her voice refused to come out. Some kind of energy coursed through her veins and seared through her body, like electricity - or magic. It didn't last, though, and at one point all the sensations receded and she found herself back in the dark tomb, surrounded by men in uniform that were staring dumbstruck at their own hands.

"Was that…?"

"... Did we just…?"

"... Receive the…?"

"... Blessing of magic?"

A solemn silence. Then, a loud cheer resounded loud among the stone walls. However, Crowe didn't pump her fist up like the other Glaives. Instead, she dropped down to her knees, hugging herself. A strong shiver ran through her limbs and turned her breaths haggard.

"Crowe?!"

Libertus stepped forward, but someone else moved faster than him. Before anyone could see it happen, Cor had knelt down and scooped Crowe up from under her arms and knees.

"Marshal…?"

Libertus took a step back, mouth agape. In contrast, the Marshal gave him nothing more than a brief glance before addressing the rest of the Glaives, "You know your duty, Glaives."

One by one, the Glaives nodded and placed their fist upon their hearts - even Prompto. Their words rang loud and clear and true, "For hearth and home!"


	7. Chapter 7

When Crowe finally woke up, she found herself lying on her back inside a tent. She blinked once, and then twice, before she finally moved to sit up. From beyond the fabric of the tent, she could see that there was fire already set up outside. Before she could get out, however, the tent zipped open and Cor slipped in.

“You’re awake,” he declared flatly.

“I guess I am.”

Crowe trained her eyes around, suddenly finding it awkward to be in such small space together with the Marshal. In her attempt to break the ice, she asked, “Where are we?”

“Remember the haven that we passed earlier?” Cor paused to sit cross-legged on the tarp. “The one that you refused to rest at?”

“Ah… touché.”

Crowe could feel his ice-blue eyes on her, so she cast her own down on the tarp. “How did we get out of the tomb? Did the Arachne colony give chase?”

“They did, but with magic, they weren’t so difficult to handle.”

“Huh. Good timing.”

“And you…” His voice faltered, then, “How are you?”

Slowly, Crowe looked up and flashed him a smile. “I’m alright now. I had an… epiphany, of sorts.”

“An epiphany?”

She nodded. Then, she lifted her hand and cast a flame on her open palm. “You are right, after all. The True King still lives, and he will return to rid Eos of the darkness.”

Cor looked at the fire that licked and danced along her skin. He couldn’t quite decide which one was more surprising: the spell or the words that she had just said out loud.

“So, you’re a believer now?” he eventually asked.

Crowe chuckled. Then, with a flick of her fingers, the fire disappeared and instead her fingers were encased with crystalline ice. “It’s not really a matter of believing if you actually saw it.”

“You saw Noctis?” If Cor was surprised, it didn’t show in his voice.

Crowe nodded and let go of the magic. Her hand reverted to normal immediately, but she stared down at it as if she had never seen anything like it before.

“He is going to sacrifice himself for us all. The last selfless act to save everyone from darkness." She paused to exhale a trembling breath. "All of them, no matter good or bad… even someone like me.”

Crowe closed her hand into a fist. At once, Cor covered it with his own hand. She gazed up and their eyes met, and she was sure she had never seen the Marshal’s eyes with such soft edges around them.

“You are worthy of saving, Crowe,” he said. “Don’t you ever forget that.”

"Cor…"

Before Crowe said any other word, Cor leaned in to close the distance between them and touched their lips gently, at first, before he pried hers open. Crowe moaned, her arms went reflexively around his neck as the kiss deepened. His own hand went to her nape, cradling her head and dipping his fingers into those silky dark strands that had been mesmerizing him.

At one point, Cor's lips left hers and trailed down past her chin to her neck. Crowe closed her eyes and sighed. Her head was tilted aside so the Marshal could get more access. His kisses went lower and lower… until they stopped right where her scar peeked out from underneath her collar.

Sensing Cor's lack of movement, Crowe tipped her chin back down, her impatience diminishing the moment she saw his expression. She might not have known what was going on in Cor's mind, but she at least recognized the faraway look that he was wearing. She had it, too, every once in a while, when the darkness that she saw every day got too much and she had to retreat into the past that was stored inside herself.

"What's wrong?" she asked, breaking the silence that hung heavy between them.

The Marshal looked up to her slowly before flashing a small smile, and Crowe forgot to breathe for one full moment. His free hand went to stroke a few strands of hair back to behind her ear. "Are you sure you want to do this, Crowe?"

Crowe clicked her tongue and pulled at his collar. "The last time you were this hesitant, didn't I tell you to shut up and kiss me?"

He chuckled. "That you did."

"Then you know what to do."

She could feel Cor's amused smile on her lips when he leaned in to kiss her again. Crowe let out a happy sigh. Soon enough, her hands were struggling to unbutton and peel off all pieces of clothing from her body.

While her movements were hurried and unmethodical, Cor's were careful and deliberate. His hands traced along the curves of Crowe's body, mapping all the dents and mounds to his memories. Each hitch of her breaths and her moans were music to his ears. He lingered especially on her scars - both new and old - giving them special attention with his lips and fingers.

Crowe gasped at one point. One hand flailed in the air before it clung at the roots of his hair, while the other tried to reach unsuccessfully at the waistband of his pants. "Cor. Stop. Teasing."

He claimed her lips yet again before pushing her hand closer, letting her unbuckle his belt. Crowe took the chance to slip into his pants and trace her palm along his semi-hard erection. Cor let out a grunt and pulled her flush against him, all the while bucking his hips against her touch. "I don't want to hurt you anymore, Crowe…"

Crowe hummed half-approvingly. "You might just be surprised at how resilient I actually am."

"I already am, ever since I saw you again in Lestallum. You are so strong and beautiful." Cor kissed down along her newest scar and Crowe let out the filthiest moan.

"I have lost so much since I met you," she gasped, her eyes fluttered half-close with pleasure. She pulled her hands away from him and draped them both over her head, looking as much an image of a beautiful, foulmouthed siren that drove him crazy with desire. "My home, my family, my faith… I don't know if I will be strong enough for long."

Cor was quiet for a moment. Then, he leaned in to kiss her neck, just below her jugular. "I'm so sorry… but you don't need to face everything alone now. I am here with you."

And with that promise, Cor held his erection in his hand and aimed it carefully into the entrance of her vagina. Crowe moaned and arched her back, and he peppered kisses down her neck and mounds of her breast.

It was surreal, finding herself sprawled naked in a tent and getting fucked inch by inch by none other than Cor Leonis. The very person that had destroyed her life. She shouldn't have consented to this. And yet, the more she saw and heard his reactions, the more she wanted to see him  _ break _ with pleasure.

Before long, Crowe's hands reached up to clutch at Cor's shoulder blades, nails biting down through the clothing as she pushed her hips towards his. The Marshal let a moan slip as he bottomed up inside her, her inner walls warm and snug against his length.

He leaned in once more to ravish Crowe's lips. His fingers latched close to the roots of her sensual hair before he moved his hips, pulling out almost completely before slamming his entire length back into her.

Crowe let out a string of incoherent moans as Cor began to fuck her in earnest. At one point, her legs went up to his hip and thighs for support as she desperately bucked back against his thrusts, chasing after more friction. Her back arched as pleasure was steadily building up in her lower abdomen.

“Cor, I-!” Crowe opened her mouth to warn him, but her orgasm hit her first. At the same time, little sparks of electricity jolted off the tip of her fingers. Cor moaned loudly at both the shock and the sudden tightness massaging his length. His next thrusts grew more erratic until with one final thrust, he buried himself deep to the hilt in her and painted her walls white with his seeds.

As they both came down from the high of their orgasm, Cor laid down on his side and pulled Crowe close into his arms. When he pulled out of her, some of his come spilled out to her thigh. Crowe noticed it, but at that point she was too spent to be annoyed by it.

"Should probably give some warning before you're going to shock me like that," he muttered. She couldn't help but chuckle.

"I did try to warn you," replied Crowe with a sleepy voice. "Well. Sorta."

Cor huffed and settled her better on the nook of his arm. His mumbling afterwards was so soft that Crowe would probably have not heard it if she wasn't so close, "Well. It actually wasn't so bad."

A satisfied smile decorated Crowe's lips as she was slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

It took a few hours until the next truck arrived, and then a couple more hours before they reached Lestallum. She called Libertus the moment she stepped out of the truck and was glad to hear the connecting tone only once before it was picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Libs. Where are you at?”

“Uh, just at home,” he replied. “Why?”

“Oh, well, you told me earlier that you had something to give me when we’re back in Lestallum, didn’t you? I can drop by on my way home if you give me your address.”

“Oh. Uhm, don’t worry about it. It’s… nothing important.”

Crowe furrowed his brows. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah… it’s nothing, really.” There was a pause, and Crowe could imagine Libertus rubbing the back of his neck in the meantime. A tick that he had picked up when he was a teenager. “Anyway, you must be tired, right, after all that traveling? You should just go home directly.”

Crowe wanted to push more to find out what it was that Libertus wanted to give her. But at the same time, she could also sense that he didn’t want to continue with the topic much longer. Considering they just recently made up, Crowe was hesitant to start yet another argument with Libertus and decided to just let this one slide.

“Alright. I guess I’ll see you around the HQ, then?” she suggested, using the exact same phrase that she, Libertus, and Nyx had often used back when they were still in Insomnia.

She could hear him chuckle on the other side of the line. “Yeah. I’ll see you around, partner.”


	8. Chapter 8

After what had happened in the tomb of the Mystic, words spread fast like a wildfire. All that people inside and outside of Lestallum talked about for days was the ‘miracle’ that allowed Kingsglaives to wield magic again - just like when King Regis was still alive.

Once the news got out, people were quick to start theorizing. Some said that the Lucian King's magic was unlocked by the Oracle, just before her life was taken away. Some others said it was proof that the True King was still alive somewhere. Interests piqued, and suddenly, the number of new Kingsglaive recruits doubled over the week. And then it further doubled over in the following week.

It didn't take long for people to get reminded that not everyone had affinity for magic. That realization dammed the number of new registrations a bit, but the interest was clearly still there even after months had passed. Crowe knew it all too well, because as a former 'real' Glaive, she was tasked with testing new recruits to see whether they were magically attuned. It was supposed to be a small, part-time thing, but with the sheer volume of new recruits it quickly evolved into a routine.

Surprisingly, for herself and others that knew her, Crowe didn't mind doing her new tasks very much. Libertus found them tedious, opting instead for more field works. On the contrary, Crowe found it… rather nice.

Magic made her see the world differently - literally and figuratively. She felt more in tune with the world when magic was coursing in her veins, like there was an energy in the planet that she could tap into and communicate with directly. All of a sudden, fire felt warmer, electricity more vibrant - and the little light that there was around her more radiant. After years of absence, it was easy to forget how it was like to be in the presence of magic and how integral it had become in her life. And once she got it back, Crowe would be lying to say that she didn't enjoy watching the new Glaives react to discovering such sensations for the first time.

Well, okay. Perhaps she didn't like it as much as being fucked by the Marshal.

Gods… even she couldn't believe she was capable of having such thoughts. But as she was bent over his desk, her uniform in complete disarray and his cock mercilessly pounding in and out of her, Crowe could barely think of anything else.

All around her, papers and stationary clattered and eventually fell to the floor. Crowe bit at her lower lip in an attempt to not make anymore noise. It became a challenge every time Cor pawed past her open shirt to pinch at her overstimulated nipple, or lifted her hips in such a way that made him thrust a spot inside her that sent delicious sparks up her spine.

"Crowe…" Cor muttered shortly before dipping into her hair and pulled sharply at the roots. A moan almost slipped out of her mouth, then. It didn't help that the hand on her hip slipped down her bare thigh and lifted up her knee on the desk, allowing him to thrust in a new angle. "I'm close…"

Her arms would have given up at that point if it wasn't for the grip on her hair. As it was, Crowe was left with little option other than hanging on, her orgasm so close and yet so far away from her grasp.

"Cor, please…," she whined. In an instance, his fingers trailed down her torso and hovered over the spot where they were connected. When his battle-calloused thumb pressed on her clit, she thought that she could see stars.

Not long afterwards, Crowe could hear a low grunt from behind her. Cor resumed thrusting a couple more times, prolonging her orgasm before he, too, reached his peak. His length throbbed deep against her throbbing walls in a way that would have made her curse loudly at the heavens if they had been somewhere more private.

As they slowly climbed down from their highs, Crowe could feel Cor's grip on her hair loosened, followed by his cock carefully pulling out of her, causing her to let out a content sigh. When the both of them finished cleaning up and were properly dressed up again, Cor leaned in to kiss Crowe full on her lips.

"I've got to meet Scientia later, by the way," he told her between kisses. "So don't wait for me."

Crowe hummed. "Optimistic of you to think that I'd wait for you."

Cor chuckled. "I am hopeful."

Crowe wanted to smile, but instead she bit gently down at the Marshal's bottom lip. Then, without looking back, she headed for the door and left the office. She liked to think that his eyes lingered on her behind every time she went away. Probably it wasn't always the case, but it was still nice to imagine anyway.

The first thing that Crowe noticed after exiting the office was how empty the hallway was. _Good_ , she thought. At least it seemed that they were still getting away with their secret sex escapades.

"Hey, Crowe!"

Crowe had only walked past the first turn when she suddenly heard someone calling. She turned around, her heart skipping.

"Yes?" Crowe curved a smile at the young Glaive that was jogging up to her, just to be extra unsuspicious.

"Oh, thank the Astrals I finally found you. Do you happen to be busy right now?" Her caller asked. "We have a fresh recruit that was scheduled to get an attunement test today, but the examiner couldn't make it."

"Uh. Yeah, sure. Not like I have a lot on my plate right now," replied Crowe. "Is the recruit here already?"

"Yes, he's waiting in the training arena now," explained the Glaive. A moment later, he hesitated. "I just have to warn you, though, his situation is a bit… odd."

"What do you mean?"

"It's… easier if you meet him and find it out yourself, I guess."

"... Okay, then."

Crowe shrugged, not thinking much of what the younger Glaive said as she made her way towards the training hall.

* * *

She must have been… what, 15 or 16 years old? Crowe couldn't remember. But Nyx and Libertus were still in the process of enlisting into Kingsglaive, and she had felt left behind. So she had asked to come along with them to the Citadel one day, where they were supposed to get some sort of test.

The three of them ended up sitting in an office. A man in a black suit sat behind a desk facing Nyx and Libertus, while Crowe sat on a chair against the wall behind them. The man produced a stone sigil that he placed in the middle of the desk, in front of Nyx and Libertus.

"I want each one of you to focus your attention on this sigil," he declared. "And we can see if it reacts to you."

Nyx and Libertus looked at each other before they looked back at the examiner. Then Libertus let out a sigh. "Alright, here goes nothing."

He rested both hands on his knees and concentrated on the sigil. For a moment, nothing happened. But then, the sigil started to reverberate with a white-blue light. With the kind of surprise that Libertus wore on his face, Crowe thought he would have flipped over on his chair.

"No way!" he shouted. "That really worked?!"

"It would appear so, Mr. Ostium." The examiner picked up the sigil and repositioned it to its original spot on the desk. "Congratulations. Your talents in magic will be a valuable addition to the Kingsglaive."

"Yess!"

Libertus pumped his fist up in the air. At the same time, the man in black suit turned to Nyx. "I believe it is your turn now, Mr. Ulric?"

"Uh, yeah. Let's see…"

Nyx tried to relax his muscles before focusing his attention on the sigil. Nothing happened for a moment, then it stretched to another five seconds, and then ten. The silence in the room was gradually becoming heavy. Nyx could feel it, and he was ready to give up before the sigil suddenly resonated with light, much brighter than with Libertus. Then, it drifted up from the desk and began floating in the air.

"What the…?" Nyx's eyes widened.

"Whoa, did you really do that, Nyx?" asked Libertus.

The examiner calmly reached out to catch the floating sigil. Then he opened his palm to reveal that the surface of the sigil had a layer of soot, as if it had been burned by fire.

"Perhaps Mr. Ulric had partly been the culprit," he said. "But I believe someone else in this room also had a hand in it - figuratively speaking."

All eyes went to Crowe's, then. For exactly three seconds, it made her want to shrink and hide away in a hole somewhere. Then the examiner slipped the sigil back into the inner pocket of his suit.

"Miss Altius, is it not?" he asked. "Would you happen to share your brothers' interest in joining the Kingsglaive?"

And Crowe had said yes, of course. Because how could she pass such a perfect chance to show off her newfound talents in front of Nyx and Libertus?

Years later, there she stood in the Kingsglaive training hall in Lestallum. There was no desk in front of her, but her supposed examinee stood not far away. Contrary to her prior expectations, he was not a stranger, even though the man himself had repeatedly insisted that they had never met. Vaguely, she sensed her grip tighten on the sigil in her hand while her teeth gritted slightly closer together.

"So what you're saying is that… you don't remember your own identity?" Her voice trembled ever so slightly from anger. "How is that even possible?"

Before her, Luche Lazarus - the traitorous, former leader of the original Kingsglaive - shrugged. His blue eyes were looking everywhere except in her direction.

"Would have made my life so much easier if I knew how to answer that…," he muttered.

Quietly, calmly, Crowe breathed in a puff of air, then let it out again. Then she slipped the sigil back into the pocket of her uniform jacket and took a tentative step forward. "Is that why you decided to enlist? To find out who you really are?"

A nod. "At the very least, that's what Libertus had promised."

"And you believed him?" She asked further. "Oh, sorry. I suppose it's more appropriate to say it the other way around, isn't it? Libertus actually _believed_ you. How crazy."

Luche's eyebrows furrowed, then he took an uncomfortable step back. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that I'm having none of your bullshit, Luche."

Before Luche could open his mouth to reply, Crowe had already summoned a ball of fire in her hand and tossed it in his direction, prompting Luche to duck and roll away. With horror, he saw the fire hit the wall and disappeared into a blast of soot.

"What the hell was that?!" he shouted at Crowe. "I thought I was here to get tested for something?"

Crowe tilted her head to the side. "Oh, you are getting tested, alright. Don't worry about it."

As she spoke, Crowe stretched her arm to the side and opened her palm. Slowly but surely, a large ball of flame started to grow in size just above a lick of her skin.

"We want to see if you have any talent in magic, don't we? Well, if you do have even a smidge of it, then you would have been able to channel some in order to dodge _this._ "

"What?" Luche's face paled. "I-Isn't there a… safer way?"

"Not for you, traitor."

At the end of her sentence, Crowe hurled the fireball once again. Then it was followed by another, and another. Luche ran away from all of them, making a big circle around the hall and cursing for his life. Crowe chased after him, tossing more fire spells on the way.

At one point, Crowe saw an opening and she took it, firing a particularly large ball of fire ahead of Luche's trajectory. Soon enough, Luche found himself a sitting duck, blue eyes widened as he stared into the blazing inferno coming his way. Then he raised both arms in front of him in a feeble, desperate attempt to protect himself from the incoming heat.

But his fear never came true.

Before the fire even made contact, it had dissolved, leaving a smattering of embers all over the floor and the wall. Luche had dismissed her spell as his survival instinct kicked, and Crowe was left dumbstruck for exactly one second. Then her anger returned, and she got ready to fire another spell - only this time, someone else caught her wrist and gave it a tight squeeze.

"Enough, Crowe." Cor's voice was both loud and deep, reverberating through the entire training hall with strictness and authority. "You are going to kill him."

Crowe glared at him in silence before muttering, "How can you be so sure that's not what I want to do?"

A furrow appeared between his brows before he addressed Luche, "Get the hell out of here and find Ostium."

Crowe took the chance to slap the Marshal's hand away from her before making a beeline towards the exit, ignoring everything and anything except for the rage that burned bright and hot inside her.


	9. Chapter 9

The hallway of the Kingsglaive HQ was rather occupied, but everyone seemed to make way the moment Crowe walked by. Perhaps it was thanks to her sullen face, or perhaps it was the fact that Marshal Cor Leonis himself was following after her.

"Crowe… we have to talk."

"Oh, do we now? I thought that ship had sailed away the moment you decided not to let me know that _Luche fucking Lazarus is still alive_."

Cor sighed. "We don't know yet what actually happened. There is still an investigation ongoing-"

"Great. A secret investigation that I don't know about." Crowe scoffed. "Why does it all sound so familiar??"

Crowe felt a hand on her forearm and she turned around. There was something like anger flitting by Cor's expression, but when he spoke next, it was clear and concise, "I only wanted to protect you, Crowe."

"Bullshit," Crowe mercilessly called, jerking away her arm. This time, though, it was more difficult to get herself away compared to in the training hall. Maybe he had tightened his grip, or maybe she just couldn't ignore his deeply frowning face. Either way, she sighed and turned around.

"If you want to take in traitors like Luche, then be my guest," she declared. "But know that if you do, I am going to quit.

"So think of your decision carefully, _Marshal_."

Before Cor could reply, she had already turned around and practically ran towards the exit door of the HQ.

* * *

Later that night, Crowe had another dream. And it was not a good one.

It had been a while since she had a nightmare, and it had been even longer since she had one where she was crumpled helplessly on the asphalt on the way to Tenebrae. The sun was shining bright in the sky and there was a taste of blood in her mouth. Somewhere on the side of the road, cicadas were singing.

She remembered trying to keep herself awake, which was difficult because she had lost a lot of blood and had broken bones in at least three places. But it was important to stay awake or she'd fall into a shock - or even worse: get captured by her assailant.

At one point, however, the tip of leather boots entered her sight. For exactly one second, relief washed over her. Then she struggled to look up and saw the smirking face of Luche, followed with the glint of an unsheathed kukri.

Then, a lightning bolt struck her. Just in low enough current to not kill, but strong enough to cause excruciating pain. By the time the current was cut off, she opened her eyes and found herself in a room with grey concrete walls. The same smirk was etched on Luche's face as he stood towering over her, the familiar glint in his knife was shadowed by the crackling electricity in his open palm before it jabbed down in her direction.

Crowe jolted awake, her breaths quick and her forehead drenched in cold sweat. The street lights seeped into the gaps of her bedroom window, and she focused herself on them as she tried to calm down her heart beat. _You're okay_ , she tried to tell herself. _It's all in the past. He can't hurt you anymore now_.

But was that really true?

She had just seen Luche, right here in Lestallum, with her own eyes. He may have claimed that he had forgotten everything, but who could really know that he was telling the truth?

Sighing, Crowe brushed back a few stray strands from her face, then glanced towards her nightstand. Her phone was lying there, silent and unresponsive. She had been waiting for Cor to call or even text her since their last argument, but it was to no avail. There was a complete and total radio silence.

Well, fine by her.

She couldn't care less even if she couldn't see him ever again.

Or so she told herself as she tried to fall back to sleep.

* * *

Days went by, and Crowe still heard nothing from the Marshal. Which was fine for her, really. She had taken the radio silence as his way to say that he had made his decision, and therefore she had stopped coming to the Kingsglaive HQ altogether.

In the beginning, Crowe still got calls about attunement tests for the new recruits, but that petered out after a while. At one point, the only thing left to do was to inform Libertus of her resignation from Kingsglaive. He was scheduled to arrive back in Lestallum that night from a long mission, and she had wanted to tell him directly before he could hear it from anyone else.

But first, she needed to have some liquid courage.

So Crowe went down to a bar in Lestallum that she often visited, expecting to down a couple of shots before going on her merry way. What she didn't expect, however, was to hear Gladiolus' low baritone voice calling out, "Oh, hey. There you are, Crowe. Long time no see."

Well, okay, perhaps she was lying when she said she didn't expect him to be at the bar. But what she didn't expect was the fact that he was there with his boyfriend. Grimacing, Crowe nodded at the man sitting next to Gladiolus before taking her own bar stool. "Evening, Ignis."

"Good evening to you, too, Crowe," Ignis replied with his clipped, vaguely Tenebraen accent. His scarred, unseeing eyes looked through her. It never failed to unnerve her every time they met.

"We were just talking about you, actually," Gladiolus chimed in.

"Oh?" Crowe raised her eyebrows. "Only good ones, I hope."

Gladiolus chuckled. "It wasn't that kind of talk."

"Indeed," Ignis chimed in, then paused to take a sip from his coffee. "Gladio and I were just discussing Kingsglaive's biggest mission thus far."

Crowe hummed. "Uh, yeah… I've been a bit out of it lately, so not sure what the big deal is all about."

"I figured as much," said Gladiolus. "Ignis knows more about it, but from what I understood, the Marshal has been heading an investigation on a phenomenon that's been happening lately among the amnesiac Glaives…"

"... There are more than one of them now?" Crowe deadpanned.

"Enough to fix the royal vessel within a few short days, at the very least," answered Ignis.

"Yeah. Libertus is one of them," added Gladiolus.

There was so much information to take in from this conversation that Crowe wasn't sure where to begin. Eventually, she began with asking, "So, what exactly is this mission that you guys are talking about?"

There was silence for a moment before Ignis spoke up, "The Marshal had been contacting me since the first amnesiac Glaives started appearing. He thought that since I have salvaged a lot of documents in the royal archive, I might know something that could explain why these Glaives that were supposed to be dead started showing up."

"And what did you find?" Crowe asked.

"Nothing. The only lead they had was this dream that all the resurrected Glaives seemed to have: that someone was telling them to head for Angelgard."

Crowe clicked her tongue. "So Cor and Libertus are in Angelgard now?"

"Yes, I believe so."

Less than two seconds later, Crowe suddenly stood up. Gladiolus blinked at that. "Where are you going?"

"Finding an airship that can take me to the damn island," she answered curtly before storming off the bar.


	10. Chapter 10

"Well, I didn't expect _you,_ out of all people, would show up at my door today," remarked Aranea. "But I'm so glad now that you did. What a mess you guys are in…"

"Yeah… I can't believe it either," Crowe fumed. "These resurrected Glaives are traitors. What if it's all a trap? And how did the Marshal manage to get Libertus dragged into all of this?"

Aranea shrugged. "Well, if you're asking my opinion, I think you're the one that is unnecessarily upset about the whole thing. I get that you feel left behind, perhaps even betrayed that no one told you anything.

"And now, you're taking it up on yourself to find the Marshal and make him atone - which I totally respect, by the way," she paused to throw Crowe a grin. "I personally think you could own up to it a bit more, though."

Crowe said nothing. Instead, she looked up through the windshield of the airship, watching the curved shadows of Angelgard slowly come into view. They almost arrived, she thought, and stood up from her seat.

"Well. Thanks for the lift and the unsolicited opinion," she said, turning to the driver's seat. "I'll find a way to repay you. Promise."

"You're welcome," drawled Aranea. "I suppose I could always ask for a kiss. But it sounds like what creepy dudes would do, so I won't."

Crowe chuckled, saying, "Careful what you wish for," then leaned in to capture Aranea's face in her hands.

Aranea widened her eyes and cursed. The airship wobbled slightly afterwards, but Crowe held on for a moment before pulling away with a grin.

"Oh, aren't you a tease…," Aranea chuckled. Crowe snickered before turning around and pressing the big, red button next to the airship's side latch. Once the latch slid open, Crowe put on a pair of goggles to protect her eyes and then jumped off into the night.

* * *

The winds hit against her face and blew back her long hair as Crowe plunged further down onto the island. She could feel something else as well: a pressure of energy that stretched taught and dense in the air. Like the charged air before a storm - only instead of electricity, it was magic.

Something big was coming, Crowe realized. And whatever it was, it must have been triggered by Cor and the others somehow. Crowe gritted her teeth. The rocky surface of the island was just ahead of her now, and she muttered a string of wind spells to cushion her descent. She ended up rolling forward to break the fall, stopping finally with one hand and knee supporting her off the ground.

"Cor!!" she called out upon taking off her protective goggles. Much to her surprise, the Marshal himself came running into her view and helped her to her feet.

"Crowe!" he called out. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking you that question." 

Crowe paused to look around. They were standing on some sort of altar, flanked on both sides by the humongous rock formations that had lent the island its name. All around them, there were lamps that were lit up not by electricity, but by some sort of ethereal blue flames. From a corner of her eyes, she saw a half dozen people in Kingsglaive uniform gathered together, looking around them with the same uncertain expression. Libertus was among them, and Luche as well. When Crowe came across the sight of the latter, she returned her attention back to the Marshal.

"What are you planning to-?"

Crowe could barely finish her question before a loud roar was heard all over the altar. The pressure of magic increased before it became even more condensed and overwhelming. Without thinking, she pushed Cor away, just in time before the earth started to shake and a large face began to emerge from the side of the altar. Behind the figure, a gigantic snake-like creature burst out from the sea with a deafening screech.

"The Astrals?" Crowe gasped. Casting her eyes further up, she saw Ramuh, with his long beard floating up high in the sky, holding a staff that crackled with purple statics. An ethereal, icy-white woman that she recognized as Shiva floated next to him, her head tilted up to the sky.

Crowe followed Shiva's gaze and saw a bright spot of light descending from the sky. Shielding her hand above her eyes, she could see that the light actually came from the blades that rotated around a large humanoid form covered in metal-like armor, with a pair of horns adorning the head. Another sharp gasp escaped Crowe's lips as recognition washed over her mind. "Is that…?"

"The God of War himself, Bahamut," Cor finished her sentence. "We did suspect that he was the source of the voices that the Glaives had been hearing."

Crowe squinted, both from the light of the Draconian's swords and the statement that Cor was making. At the same time, the Marshal stood to his feet and walked over to the descending Astral.

"Mighty Bahamut," he announced, his voice clear and loud. "These men have followed your guidance to this place. Pray tell what awaits them."

Bahamut seemed to follow the direction that Cor had pointed, and then began to speak with a deep, unnatural voice, "Many of these Glaives met their end as traitors once, but they have been deemed worthy of a new life - under one condition."

"What?!" Crowe's anger was beginning to sheethe. " _You_ resurrected these traitors?!"

The Astral appeared to ignore Crowe's shouting and instead pulled out one rotating blade into his own hand. "Answer me, O Glaives, will you live as loyalists or die as traitors? The hour of reckoning is come."

Out of the cowering group, Luche Lazarus took a step forward. "I don't know whether I am a traitor or not, but I do know one thing: the world is dying, and I swear to protect it with everything that I have!"

The speech seemed to rouse the spirits of his teammates, making them all stand a little taller. It affected Crowe, too, just a little bit. Hearing Luche's proclamation that he'd protect the world no matter the consequence was… unexpected, to say the least.

A large gust of wind blew shortly after, as Bahamut slashed his majestic blade above the altar. "Very well. Then by the Bladekeeper's hand shall your fate be decided," he announced before opening up his metallic wings, and then lunging down towards the Glaives.

 _Oh, hell no_.

Crowe tossed her kukri and warped towards the other Glaives, just in time to cast a protective, iridescent Wall. Bahamut's strike was dampened for a bit before his blade could slash through, but it was just enough time for everyone to scramble away and summon their own weapons.

Bahamut retreated, and for the first time he regarded Crowe as if she was really there. "Your loyalty has been proven, Crowe Altius. This Trial's no place for you."

"Yeah? Well, that doesn't mean _I've_ got nothing to settle with _you_ , alright?" she retorted. "How could you revive these traitors and give them second chances when there are so many more loyal Glaives that died because of them?!"

Crowe settled into a fighting stance and summoned another dagger - a reminiscent of Nyx's fighting style. Then, with a yell, she tossed one of her daggers and disappeared into a warp, only to have Bahamut evade her strike and slash down in her direction.

Crowe cursed and braced herself from the attack, but the hit never arrived. When she opened her eyes next, she saw that Cor had stood towering above her, both hands holding up his sword as it clashed against the Astral's. He then pushed forward with a loud shout, eventually managing to toss the blade of Bahamut aside.

"... The hell are you doing, Crowe?" he asked next in between breaths. "I thought your Glaive speciality was elemental magic, not warping."

Crowe didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I guess I'm still not over the fact that you dared leave me behind for this bastard."

Cor hummed. "It's unlike you to run after a man crying."

" _I am not fucking crying_."

Ahead of them, Bahamut raised his sword and prepared for another dash. Crowe cursed, then stood straight up on her feet. Her fingers began to tingle with magic as a string of spells readily escaped her lips.

"Alright, Cor. Wait for my cue…"

Cor huffed before readying his sword for battle. "Don't mind me if I don't."

* * *

If the sun could still rise and set, she could easily imagine that the fight had lasted the entire night. As it was, Crowe had to settle with "an ungodly amount of time" whenever she had to describe how long the fight with Bahamut had lasted.

But that was a problem for later.

In that moment, when the battle was just over, all that Crowe could think about was the aches in her muscles. There must have been cuts and bruises on several different parts of her body, but they were much less noticeable than the pain in her wrists that she got from holding her dagger tight, on and off, over the course of the night.

Nevertheless, she forced herself to walk down the altar towards the shore, together with Cor and the rest of the Glaives. It took a while for her to realize that she did recognize some of their faces and names. Tredd Furia was walking ahead of her, just next to Luche, and Axis Arra half-stumbled down the stairs on her right as he was assisted by Libertus and Sonitus Bellum. To think that she was brushing shoulders with these men again after all these years… it felt so surreal.

"So… that was it, wasn't it?" Luche's words were the first to break the silence since the group first descended the altar. "We just need to guard this island, and… we will be forgiven for our past mistakes?"

Crowe stared silently at Luche for the first two seconds. Then, without much warning, she ran down a couple of steps ahead to punch the blond on his sharp cheekbone.

"Crowe! What the hell?" Libertus was the first to step forward and secured her arms. She let him drag her away, chuckling dryly all the while.

"You really think it's all that easy, huh? I wonder what King Noctis will think when he returns to see _you traitors…_ "

"Crowe…" It was Cor's turn to call her out. Unlike in the training hall, back in Lestallum, his voice sounded much less imposing. The fight with Bahamut must have drained him. "Leave them be. Let's focus on getting home."

"Oh I will," she hissed. "I can't wait for them all to rot on this island and never have to see their faces ever again."

She then pulled herself out of Libertus' grip and marched towards where the royal vessel was moored. However, when she noticed that Libertus wasn't following, Crowe turned around and threw him a puzzled look. The Galahdian, in turn, gave her a guilty shrug.

"I'm gonna stay here, Crowe," he declared. "Even if it means that I can't show my face to you ever again."

"No! Libs, what are you-"

"Yes, Crowe. I have to do it."

He walked closer and placed his hand on her shoulder. "There's… something that you have to know, Crowe. I did betray Lucis. I helped set off the bombs that broke down the Wall amplifiers on the day of the peace treaty. All because I mistakenly thought the Kingdom had sent you to your death."

"... What?"

The news hit Crowe hard like a hammer. Libertus seemed to notice this, as his grin was soon tinged with an awkward grimace. "Imagine how I felt when I saw you stumble down that broken flyover in Insomnia… I thought for sure that I was seeing your ghost."

Crowe opened her mouth to say something, but her words failed her. In the end, Libertus waved his hand and resumed, "Anyway, this is the least that I can do, after everything that I made you, Nyx, and everybody else go through."

He then turned to regard Cor. "Please keep her safe, Marshal. She's the only family that I have left."

Cor nodded. Crowe thought that she saw a glint of determination in his eyes, but she could have been mistaken. "You have my word, Ostium."

* * *

For most of the trip out of Angelgard, Crowe was quiet. She still gave some reactions when Cor directly addressed her, like how the weather looked like from the deck, or if she noticed any daemon swimming by. But more often than not, her answers came out as clipped and to-the-point.

She was still angry, he realized. At him, perhaps, and perhaps also at Libertus, who had decided to stay on the island to await Noctis' return. Who knew whatever went in that pretty head of hers as she sat on the deck of the royal vessel, staring out at the darkness ahead?

Cor let out a sigh as he left the wheel to sit next to her. It wasn't until several quiet moments later that he finally opened his mouth, "A yen for your thoughts, Crowe?"

Crowe let out a huff. "Didn't you get the memo? The Empire conquered us. Everything is in gil now."

"Ah. Then that is too bad."

Crowe glared at him, and he almost regretted being so deadpan with his reaction. Regardless, the atmosphere did relax a bit after their little banter, so perhaps it wasn't a waste of breaths after all.

A moment later, Crowe let out a sigh. "Do you still want to know who was responsible for my disappearance on the way to Tenebrae, Marshal?"

Cor threw her a blank, questioning look. Then his gaze went down to where she was rubbing at her fist, which was slightly sore from the scuffle with Luche. A moment later, Cor's confusion slowly turned into understanding, and he cursed under his breath. "You should have done more than punch him in the face."

She chuckled grimly. "I tried, didn't I? But you just had to get in the way."

"... Fair enough."

After another moment of silence, Crowe turned to face the Marshal. "And you? What were you thinking, going to Angelgard like that?" she finally asked. "Did you hear Bahamut's voice, too?"

"No," replied Cor. When he didn't elaborate further, Crowe turned aside to look at the rolling dark sea and scoffed.

"I see. You also want to die that badly, don't you? Ever since that day…"

Cor didn't respond. Crowe decided to not pursue him, either. Instead, she placed her hand over his on the deck. A silent gesture to let him know that she did understand, that she had also been there. And that they were not alone in it - not anymore.

Before long, the gesture was reciprocated with a squeezing grip. Then his free hand found her cheek and cradled it gently in his palm before he leaned in. The kisses that he gave were much more crushing compared to his feather-like touches and spoke much more than his words ever could.

There was no whisper of sweet nothings, no mentions of apology. Their bodies did the talking, instead. His lips peppered kisses around the fresh bruises on her collarbone, her waist, corner of her lips. Her legs locked firmly around his hips, refusing to let go. All gestures referred to what they wanted to say but never could put into words.

Beneath them, the waves of the sea crashed gently against the ship's hull. Pushing, clinging, and then retreating again.

And then there they were, on the vast expanse of Cygillan Sea under an eternally dark sky, desperately making love.

The entire world may be dying all around them, and they may have lost everything that they cared about.

But at the very least, they had each other.


	11. Epilogue

"... Is it still a long way to go?"

"Not at all, old man."

Cor let out a huff. "I am not  _ that _ old."

"If you say so." Crowe shrugged.

They continued on climbing the flight of stairs which in a previous life had served as an emergency stairs for the Citadel. When they finally reached the top, they encountered a door. Crowe pushed it open, and at once both of them were standing on the roof of the Citadel, surrounded by glass towers that used to hold the powers of the Crystal.

Without much delay, Crowe walked over and sat down at the edge of the roof. Her feet dangled above the ruins of the royal square, the very spot where Noctis - the last King of the Lucis Caelum line - had fought off Adagium just the night before. In a few hours, the square would be filled with people: Lucians and non-Lucians that came to pay their respect for the savior of Eos. Both he and Crowe would be watching over the procession as the Captain and Lieutenant of the Kingsglaive, keeping everything safe and orderly.

But in that moment on the roof of Citadel, everything was still and quiet. Screams of daemons had died down completely, and on the horizon beyond, the sky was tinged with pink and orange colors.

"The sunrise of the decade," Cor declared as he sat down next to her. "All thanks to the sacrifices of the True King."

Crowe let out a hum. Her chestnut eyes swept over the horizon before she deadpanned, "Looks less impressive than what I remember, to be honest."

"That might be because  _ you're _ getting old."

Crowe chuckled. Turning aside, she swept one hand up the Marshal's nape, past the tuft of grey hair that had replaced his jet black one over the years. "Only you can survive unharmed after making that kind of joke on me, Marshal."

He hummed at the gesture, turned, and caught her hand in his own before kissing her knuckles - much like years ago when he rescued her from a certain death by Lestallum's reactor.

"Does that also mean that… you have finally forgiven me?" he asked. His voice was barely louder than a mutter.

Crowe's smile dropped slightly before she leaned in, quietly, for a kiss. A silent, wordless answer that they had been sharing for years.

"I guess I should, shouldn't I?" she muttered upon pulling back. Her hand directed Cor's towards the small bump in her belly. "If we want to be good parents for this one."

Cor hummed happily before leaning in for another kiss. The warmth of the sun felt invasive on his skin, which was so used to the darkness for the past ten years. But, in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to relish it all with her.

The darkness and the light.

The pain and the delight.

All the while, the sun continued on rising, eventually reclaiming its rightful place on the arch of the Wall-less sky.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Feel free to reach out to my [Tumblr](https://rolerei.tumblr.com) if you want to scream together about this pairing.


End file.
